Lực lượng vũ trang Philippin sẽ có thêm 6 máy bay chiến đấu phản lực vào năm 2016

Armed Forces to acquire 6 fighter jets by 2016

 

Saturday, July 02, 2011

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will acquire an initial six fighter jets between now and 2016, the end of the six-year term of President Benigno Aquino 3rd, in line with the defense realignment strategy of the military resulting from rising tensions in the disputed Spratly group of islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Friday disclosed the procurement or lease of the aircraft at the sidelines of the 64th anniversary of the Philippine Air Force, saying that the fighter jets were vital in protecting the country’s territorial air space.

“They are important. Fighter planes are important for interdiction….,” Gazmin said.

“Within the term of the (Aquino administration), we will have our own fighter jets,” he added.

Earlier, the AFP confirmed the May 11 intrusion of two foreign fighter jets into Philippine air space.

The jets were spotted by two Philippine OV-10 l planes on routine patrol over the potentially oil- and mineral-rich Spratlys.

For lack of equipment and capability, the AFP, however, failed to ascertain if the foreign planes were Chinese fighter jets as believed by some military and civilian authorities.

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) spokesman, Lt. Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol, also on Friday said that the planned acquisition of the six fighters jets was a “welcome development” as it would enable PAF to do its job better.

If the purchase materialized, Okol added, Air Force pilots would need specialized training before flying the fighter jets, which are high-performance aircrafts.

According to Okol, the acquisition of the fighter jets could be done either through procurement or lease as there are some countries that offer an option-to-lease arrangement.

A brand-new fighter jet, he said, is in the range of $23 to $40 million, while others, such as the F35, cost some $80 to $100 million each.

Meanwhile, Gazmin hailed a recent US Senate resolution criticizing China for using force in the West Philippine Sea.

“It’s good for us because it gives us an assurance, at least, that the US would help us if there was a conflict in the area,” he said.

But Gazmin stressed that there was no need for the US to magnify its presence in the disputed area.

 

Nguồn, The Manila Times,
http://www.manilatimes.net/news/topstories/armed-forces-to-acquire-6-fighter-jets-by-2016/

Philippin cấp phép thăm dò dầu khí bất chấp sức ép Trung Quốc

Philippines defies China

Manila to give more permits for oil search

 

Friday, July 01, 2011
 

THE Philippines, in another apparent show of standing up to China’s perceived bullying over ownership of disputed islands in the South China Sea on Wednesday announced that it would grant more permits to private firms to search for oil and natural gas there.

The announcement coincided with Beijing reiterating also on Wednesday that it has “indisputable sovereignty” over the contested islands in reaction to the United States pledging this week to help Manila assert its claims in the area.

A total of 15 exploration contracts would be offered today for mostly offshore prospects off the western island of Palawan, the Philippine’s Energy department said in a statement.

The department did not give details beyond saying that the blocks would include East Palawan—an undersea section of the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea)—as well as Northwest Palawan and the Sulu Sea basins.

“The contracting round is expected to attract investments in oil and gas exploration activities, which will contribute to the realization of the country’s energy self-sufficiency level target of 60 percent,” it said.

“Independent and large-scale international exploration companies . . . have already expressed their interest to tender their bid in the various blocks,” the statement added.

In stamping “sovereignty” over the disputed islands, a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Yang Yi, also repeated Beijing’s position that safeguarding the independence of the area’s potentially resource-rich islands and islets was a “common responsibility” for Beijing and Taipei.

‘Indisputable’ sovereignty
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters,” Yang told reporters, according to an official transcript.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, whose shipping lanes are vital for global trade.

Vietnam as well as the Philippines in recent months accused China of taking increasingly aggressive actions in staking its claim to the contested waters and its archipelagos.

In response, China has insisted it wants to resolve the territorial dispute peacefully but remained firm in its claims to most of the South China Sea, even waters within the Philippines’ economic exclusion zone.

The United States and the Philippines on Tuesday launched joint naval exercises in Philippine waters close to the much-coveted South China Sea.

The commander of the US 7th Fleet, Vice Admiral Scott Van Buskirk, described America and the Philippines as “allies” and said “that is the strongest and most enduring commitment the two nations can make.”

“Our alliance is underpinned by a deep and abiding US interest in the freedom and security of the Republic of the Philippines,” he said.

In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also on Wednesday welcomed the unanimous approval by the United States Senate of a resolution deploring China’s actions in the South China Sea.

The resolution “supports the Philippine government’s proposal for the multilateral and peaceful resolution of competing claims in the disputed areas of the West Philippine Sea,” Eduardo Malaya, Foreign Affairs department spokesman, said in a text message to reporters.

He added that it is “imperative” for concerned parties “to take concrete steps to ease tensions in the area through dialogue and diplomacy.”

Beijing is adamant that it would not agree on any third-party negotiator, such as the United States, saying that the superpower’s meddling jeopardizes peaceful resolution.

The Philippines has also been calling for all claimant-countries to follow provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) and the 2002 Declaration on the Code of Conduct (DOC) between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Asean groups the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

In the United States, leaders of the four million-strong ethnic Filipino community on Tuesday denounced China’s “bullying tactics” against the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea that they said threatened regional security in Southeast Asia.

Filipino-American businesswoman Loida Nicholas Lewis of New York City said that their group, US Pinoys for Good Governance, is preparing simultaneous protest actions to draw international attention to Beijing’s aggressive posture, including its scheduled oil drilling activities next month in offshore territory belonging to the Philippines.

Lewis added that they would picket in front of the embassy of the Peoples Republic of China in Washington, D.C., and its consular offices in New York, San Francisco and Chicago.

Under UNCLOS, she said, a nation owned the oil, mineral and other resources within a two-hundred-mile radius from its base.

“The public demonstrations on July 8 seek to expose China’s abrogation of its pledge to (Asean) to resolve sovereignty disputes peacefully through negotiations,” added Lewis, also the chairman emeritus of the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA).

She added that Beijing’s March 2010 unilateral declaration of the South China Sea as a “core national interest” was similar to its claims to Tibet and Taiwan—and therefore “non-negotiable.”

Lewis said that their planned protest actions would be peaceful and intended solely to highlight prevailing tensions in the Spratlys, which she added, could lead to armed conflict.

The Spratly Islands are among those being claimed by Manila.

“We call on global Filipinos and Philippine organizations throughout the world to stand up to the [Chinese] bully and protest its impending invasion of the Philippines by demonstrating in front of consular offices of China throughout the world,” Lewis said.

Oil rig
In San Francisco, Filipino-American community leader Rodel Rodis warned that Beijing’s planned installation of its most advanced oil rig in the West Philippine Sea next month could exacerbate the already tense atmosphere in the Spratlys.

He cited a Xinhua report that the China National Offshore Oil Corp. plans to invest 200 billion yuan ($30 billion) and drill 800 deepwater wells, which they expect to have an output of an equivalent 500 million barrels of oil by the year 2020.

Rodis cited Philippine military reports that an undetermined number of structures were recently constructed by China in the vicinity of Philippine-claimed Iroguois Reef-Amy Douglas Bank near Palawan.

The site, a DFA statement said, is located southwest of Recto or Reed Bank and east of Patag or Flat Island “within the Philippines’ 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).”

“There are more than four million Filipinos in the US who can be mobilized to defend the sovereignty of the Philippines by exposing China’s aggressive acts in the Spratlys. What is also at stake is the Philippines’- ownership of potentially trillions of dollars in revenue from its oil and natural gas resources,” Rodis said.

He and Lewis feared that China, with 2.17 million soldiers under its command—larger than the combined military personnel of all the Asean countries—appeared determined to begin its billion-dollar oil rig construction activity this July approximately 125 miles from Palawan within the Philippines’ (EEZ.

They said that such move was unacceptable and could aggravate tension in the Spratly Islands.

AFP, XINHUA and Jun Medina with report from Bernice Camille V. Bauzon

 

Nguồn: The Manila Times,
http://www.manilatimes.net/news/topstories/philippines-defies-china/

Hăm dọa không giúp Trung Quốc có thêm bạn

Thế tấn công quyến rũ của Trung Quốc kể từ những năm 1980 đã mang lại những kết quả vô cùng lớn. Việc hăm dọa có thể dọa nạt một số quốc gia nhỏ hơn ở châu Á nhưng sẽ không làm cho Trung Quốc có thêm được những người bạn và liên minh đáng tin cậy, những điều mà Trung Quốc đang cần hiện nay - Frank Ching, The New Straits Times.

Threats won't help China make friends

2010/08/26
By Frank Ching

CHINA is warning Asian countries that holding military exercises with the United States is bad for their health.

South Korea and Vietnam, both of which have recently conducted naval activities with their American counterparts, have been warned that the US is far away, suffering from financial difficulties and is not a reliable partner, while China is right next door.

"Military drills leave South Korea insecure," blared a headline Friday in the Global Times, sister paper of the People's Daily.

South Korea and the US are holding a series of military exercises aimed at warning North Korea not to take any more bellicose actions against the South. The manoeuvres follow the sinking in March of a South Korean naval vessel, allegedly by a North Korean torpedo, with the loss of 46 lives.


Will such exercises, and a stronger military alliance with the US, provide Seoul with the security it is looking for, the Global Times asked.

"New military drills will only send more hostile signals to the North," the commentary said. "It is this hostility that has been the source of insecurity and has forced North Korea to take more risky actions."


Moreover, the commentary made clear, South Korea was not only antagonising North Korea -- it was also provoking China.

"Whatever the explanations the US and South Korea offered, the military drills surrounding China's offshore sea obviously have the intention of targeting China," it said.

The Pentagon has announced that the aircraft carrier USS George Washington will not take part in planned exercises next month in the Yellow Sea near China. This is the second time the carrier has not taken part in exercises in the Yellow Sea after the Chinese protested that its presence would jeopardise their national security.


The American decision to once again accommodate Beijing will no doubt be noted in Seoul. The Global Times commentary, without naming names, added: "South Korea needs to keep clear-minded that its security has to be built on goodwill with its neighbours. A stronger South Korea-United States alliance might jeopardise the trust of Seoul with its neighbours, and lead to more insecurity."

That is to say, it would be a mistake for South Korea to think that it could rely on the United States to deal with its mighty neighbour -- China.

A similar warning was delivered to Vietnam, which recently conducted its first joint naval engagement activities with the US.

USS George Washington also sailed to Vietnam after exercises east of the Korean peninsula.

Perhaps even more significantly, Vietnam and the US held their first defence dialogue last week at a time when Washington's military-to-military dialogue with Beijing remains suspended.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jiang Yu, warned that Vietnam's situation was "as precarious as a pile of eggs", with potential hazards lurking on every side.

Vietnam, she warned, was incurring Chinese displeasure.

Hanoi "might well overestimate the capacity of Uncle Sam's protective umbrella," she declared bluntly. "Should China and Vietnam truly come into military clashes, no aircraft carrier of any country can ensure it to remain secure."

She advised Vietnam to "give up the illusion that it can do what it likes in the South China Sea under the protection of the American navy".

China is also pointing out to one and all that the US is bogged down in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and, facing a difficult economic and fiscal situation, is taking steps to reduce its military expenditure.

Thus, the People's Daily online reported the dismantling of the Joint Forces Command, established less than a year ago in Norfolk, Virginia, to focus on the transformation of US military capabilities.

Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said that though the defence budget is growing by one or two percentage points a year, this is not enough to maintain today's fighting capabilities, which requires growth of two to three per cent.

China, on the other hand, is in much better financial shape and can afford to have its defence budget grow by close to double digits every year. While the Chinese strategy of threats and intimidation may have some effect, it would be much wiser for China to return to its old policy of emphasising goodwill and joint development rather than sticks.

China's charm offensive since the 1980s was hugely effective. Resorting to threats and blackmail may cow some of the smaller countries in Asia but will not create reliable friends and allies, which is what China needs.

Nguồn: The New Straits Times,
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/17fraky/Article/#ixzz1QeeenGJE

Mỹ cam kết hỗ trợ an ninh hàng hải cho Philippin

Ngày 24/6/2/11 tai Washington, các quan chức quốc phòng Mỹ đã lên tiếng đảm bảo sự trợ giúp của Mỹ nhằm tăng cwongf năng lực của Philippin trong việc đảm bảo lãnh hải của nước này, bao gồm các khu vực có tranh chấp ở quần đảo Trường Sa ở biển Đông mà Philippin gọi là biển Tây Philippin.
 

US vows to bolster PH maritime security

By Lazaro Y. Medina Jr., Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C.: US defense officials on Friday assured American aid to strengthen the Philippines’ capability in securing its maritime territory, including disputed areas of the Spratlys in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

The assurance was made during a series of meetings between visiting Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario with Pentagon officials led by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

On Friday, US National Director for Intelligence (NDI) James Clapper said Washington would enhance the NDI’s intelligence sharing with the Philippines to heighten Manila’s “maritime situational awareness and surveillance” in the West Philippine Sea.

Del Rosario said the Philippines prefers access to “newer U.S. military assets which the Philippines could acquire quicker but through a deliberate selection and, which hopefully, are more cost-effective.”

Pentagon officials said they would give priority to the Philippine request which would be discussed by military experts from both sides based on a checklist prepared by Manila.

Del Rosario said Manila wants to acquire radar and surveillance “assets”, including patrol vessels to secure the vast expanse of the West Philippine Sea from foreign intrusions, especially several islands off Palawan actually occupied by civilians and military units.

The foreign secretary stressed that Manila’s shopping list of modern technology and equipment would complement the excess defense articles (EDA) which America traditionally turns over to the Philippines as part the yearly US foreign aid, which include military supplies.

“We would be happy to have our team look into the full range of [Philippine] requirements for maritime security,” US Defense Undersecretary for Policy Michelle Fluornoy told Del Rosario at a meeting at the Pentagon.

“We should not allow this perception that you are alone and we’re not behind you,” Fluornoy stressed.

For his part, Clapper emphasized that the US has a long history of strong association with the Philippines as a treaty ally.

“We’ll do whatever we can to help,” Clapper assured even as he expressed concern over recent incidents of Chinese intrusions in the West Philippine Sea.

A member of the Philippine delegation said Manila has monitored “at least nine” such intrusions into Philippine territorial waters, including the recent firing by a Chinese vessel on Filipino fishermen. Nobody was killed or wounded during the “direct fire” on the civilians who were fishing within territorial waters at the time.

The same official said both sides have agreed that the choices “will be deliberate and strategy-driven” so that delivery of the desired technology and equipment could be expedited.

Nguồn: The Manila Times,
http://www.manilatimes.net/news/topstories/us-vows-to-bolster-ph-maritime-security/

Lý Quang Diệu “hiến kế” ổn định Biển Đông

Tác giả: YOICHI KATO
Bài đã được xuất bản.: 21/06/2011

Tờ Asahi Shimbun đã có buổi phỏng vấn độc quyền với ông Lý Quang Diệu - vị Bộ trưởng Cố vấn mới đây đã nghỉ hưu của Singapore. Bài phỏng vấn xoay quanh các vấn đề về thảm họa ở Nhật, sự trỗi dậy của Trung Quốc, cách kiềm chế Trung Quốc, quan hệ Nhật-Mỹ và Singapore-Mỹ, vấn đề tranh chấp ở biển Đông.

Với ông Lý Quang Diệu, mặc dù ông đã lạc quan rằng, Nhật Bản sẽ trỗi dậy từ những thách thức tái thiết hiện nay, nhưng ông tin là các tác động tiêu cực với nền kinh tế sẽ kéo dài vài năm hay thậm chí lâu hơn nữa.

Với Singapore, khi đối mặt với thực tế chiến lược trỗi dậy của một Trung Quốc đang gia tăng và một Nhật Bản yếu đi, dường như họ đang theo đuổi một chính sách thắt chặt quan hệ quốc phòng với Mỹ. Ông Lý hoàn toàn tán thành chọn lựa này, và nhấn mạnh: "Singapore và Mỹ cùng chia sẽ niềm tin rằng, một sự hiện diện mạnh mẽ của Mỹ trong khu vực sẽ tăng cường hòa bình và ổn định".

Cùng lúc đó, ông dự báo: "Sẽ có những thay đổi quan trọng trong cân bằng quyền lực vào 10 năm tới với sự trỗi dậy của Trung Quốc".

Và sau đây là những câu trả lời của ông Lý Quang Diệu qua văn bản.

- Ông cho rằng Nhật Bản sẽ nổi lên trong giai đoạn của những thách thức to lớn này là mạnh hơn hay yếu đi?

Mạnh hơn về sự đoàn kết con người nhưng yếu đi về kinh tế.

- Trong cuốn sách mới của mình, ông chỉ ra rằng, Nhật Bản đã đối mặt với những thách thức lớn như dân số sụt giảm và sự già hóa dân số. Thảm họa 11/3 dường như làm gia tăng thách thức ấy. Ông thấy tác động 11/3 thế nào với tương lai của Nhật?

Tương lai của Nhật Bản là một nền kinh tế yếu hơn trong vài năm. Những năm suy giảm có thể tiếp tục trừ phi Nhật Bản gia tăng dân số bằng nhập cư hay tăng tỉ lệ sinh.

- Những thay đổi của Nhật sẽ tác động gì tới địa chính trị khu vực?

Nhật Bản là một nền kinh tế lớn thứ hai khu vực. Bất kể sự sụt giảm nào cũng tác động tới toàn bộ đối tác kinh tế trong khu vực.

 

Ông Lý Quang Diệu. Ảnh: globalpost

- Những gì chúng ta nên xem xét khi nhìn vào các tranh cãi gần đây ở Biển Đông giữa Trung Quốc và các nước khác như Việt Nam và Philippines về mặt chiến lược khu vực và tham vọng của Trung Quốc?

Trung Quốc đã đề xuất giải quyết tranh chấp bằng con đường song phương. Tất cả các bên tranh chấp khác đều nhỏ hơn nhiều so với Trung Quốc.

- Tại Đối thoại Shangri-La, Bộ trưởng Quốc phòng Mỹ Robert Gates đã tuyên bố kế hoạch của Mỹ trong việc triển khai các tàu tuần duyên mới (LCS) đến Singapore. Singapore đã ký Thỏa thuận Khung Chiến lược (SFA) với Mỹ. Ông cho rằng Singapore cần làm nhiều hơn để tăng cường hợp tác quốc phòng với Mỹ?

Singapore sẽ cố gắng đáp ứng nhu cầu của Mỹ. Singapore và Mỹ chia sẻ một sự tin tưởng rằng, sự hiện diện mạnh mẽ của Mỹ trong khu vực sẽ góp phần tăng cường ổn định và hòa bình khu vực, đồng thời cam kết tăng cường hơn nữa hợp tác quốc phòng song phương theo tinh thần và tầm nhìn của SFA năm 2005.

- Tuyên bố triển khai các tàu tuần duyên mới của bộ trưởng Gates cho thấy, Mỹ tin rằng, họ nhất định cần tăng cường sự hiện diện và tham gia của mình tại Đông Nam Á để cân bằng với ảnh hưởng đang trỗi dậy của Trung Quốc. Ông đánh giá thế nào về chiến lược cân bằng giữa Mỹ và Trung Quốc ở khu vực châu Á - Thái Bình Dương?

Để cân bằng với một cường quốc lớn như Trung Quốc, Mỹ cần hợp tác với Nhật và hợp tác với các quốc gia ASEAN.

- Qua Đối thoại Shangri-La, Singapore góp phần thế nào để đảm bảo an ninh trong khu vực?

Singapore là địa điểm để thảo luận về những vấn đề an ninh nhạy cảm hữu ích cho tất cả các bên liên quan. Chúng tôi cung cấp một nơi gặp gỡ trung lập mà không có sự thiên vị với bất kỳ bên nào.

- Năm nay là tròn 10 năm Đối thoại Shangri-La, và Trung Quốc cuối cùng đã quyết định cử bộ trưởng quốc phòng tham dự?

Trung Quốc ban đầu đã nghi ngờ về giá trị trao đổi thảo luận, có lẽ sẽ là mục tiêu của các câu hỏi đến từ những thành viên khác tham gia Đối thoại. Nhưng giờ đây, họ quyết định cử bộ trưởng quốc phòng tham dự. Họ cần phải tin đây là nơi hữu ích cho đối thoại, cho trao đổi các quan điểm dẫn tới việc xây dựng lòng tin.

- Gần đây, một khuôn khổ địa chiến lược mới "Ấn Độ - Thái Bình Dương" đã trở nên phổ biến với các chuyên gia chính sách. Ông có cho rằng nó có thể hữu ích hơn "châu Á - Thái Bình Dương" trong việc giải quyết các thách thức an ninh và kinh tế mà các quốc gia trong khu vực đối mặt?

Ấn Độ có thể ổn định Ấn Độ Dương. Tôi không chắc là hải quân của họ có mở rộng tầm với hiệu quả tới Thái Bình Dương.

- Ấn Độ gần đây đã rất tích cực trong việc thể hiện sự hiện diện ở Thái Bình Dương. Ông có cho rằng điều này có ích với an ninh khu vực?

Đúng, nó có lợi cho hòa bình và ổn định.

- Mặc dù có rất nhiều nỗ lực từ các nước ASEAN, nhưng tranh chấp lãnh thổ ở Biển Đông dường như vẫn chưa tiến tới một giải pháp hòa bình. Những vụ việc gần đây xảy ra càng cho thấy tình hình bất ổn vẫn còn. Vậy các bên tuyên bố chủ quyền và những cường quốc chính trong khu vực có thể/nên làm gì để giải quyết vấn đề này?

Giải quyết vấn đề phù hợp với Tòa án Quốc tế về Luật biển (ITLOS).

- Ông đã đề cập tới tầm quan trọng của việc giữ cân bằng giữa Mỹ và Trung Quốc với ổn định khu vực. Những nước khác trong khu vực gồm cả Nhật Bản và Singapore có thế và nên làm gì để đạt mục tiêu này?

Nhật Bản có thể là đối tác của Mỹ cho hòa bình và ổn định. Singapore có thể đóng một vai trò nhỏ hơn như một hòn đảo, nơi Mỹ có thể chuẩn bị đạn dược và các thiết bị quân sự khác.

- Ông nghĩ thế nào về "chiến lược hóa học" giữa Mỹ và Trung Quốc, đặc biệt khi Trung Quốc ngày càng trở nên tự tin khi sức mạnh quốc gia gia tăng? Ông có nghĩ một hệ thống lưỡng cực có thể bền vững và thiết thực?
Chúng ta cần chờ đợi và chứng kiến mối quan hệ ấy phát triển thế nào. Có nhiều lợi ích khi Trung Quốc hợp tác với Mỹ. Trung Quốc cần thị trường, công nghệ và bí quyết Mỹ để phát triển.

- Năm 2012 - 2013 sẽ là thời điểm nhiều nước lớn trong khu vực châu Á - Thái Bình Dương sẽ có thể tiến hành thay đổi lãnh đạo. Ví dụ như Trung Quốc, Mỹ, Hàn Quốc...Có một số dự đoán về bất ổn trong khu vực. Vậy quan điểm của ông thế nào, và ông nghĩ sao để có thể ngăn ngừa tác động tiêu cực với khu vực?

Tôi không cho rằng thay đổi lãnh đạo là bất ổn. Sẽ có những thay đổi quan trọng trong cán cân quyền lực vào 10 năm tới với sự trỗi dậy của Trung Quốc.

Thụy Phương (Theo asahi)

Nguồn:
http://tuanvietnam.vietnamnet.vn/2011-06-20-ly-quang-dieu-hien-ke-on-dinh-bien-dong

Philippin triển khai tàu đô đốc để khẳng định chủ quyền

Nguồn tin từ Văn phòng Tổng thống Philippin ngày 20/6/2011 cho hay, việc triển khai tàu chiến đến biển Đông (Philippin gọi là vùng biển Tây Philippin) là hành động khẳng định chủ quyền mà nước này đã tuyên bố chứ không phải nhằm khiêu khích Bắc Kinh.

Navy flagship deployed to assert sovereignty

Philippine Navy ship BRP Rajah Humabon. U.S. Navy Photo

The deployment of a Philippine Navy ship to the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) was intended to assert Manila’s sovereignty over islands that it claims there, not to stir up Beijing, Malacañang said on Monday.

According to Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, the Rajah Humabon was sent to secure Scarborough Shoal, a part of the Philippines.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile late last week warned that deploying the Humabon beyond the shoal would agitate China.

The deployment of the Rajah Humabon, the Navy’s flagship, came in the wake of repeated incursions of Chinese vessels into the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone, or EEZ.

“We are not agitating [China]. I do not view this as an agitation and I don’t think the Chinese would view it as an agitation either. What we are doing is really just the exercise of any sovereign country within its own territorial waters. I think there is nothing wrong in the way we are trying to communicate and explain the steps undertaken by our government regarding this issue,” Carandang told reporters.

“The international community is just one audience, but I think the people would like to know what the government is doing about the West Philippine Sea [claim]. I don’t think that (deployment) is bad,” he said.

Carandang added that any decision to convene the National Security Council as advised by Enrile would have to be made by the National Security Cluster.

But for Rep. Todoro Casiño of Bayan Muna party-list, sending the over half-a-century-old Humabon to the Scarborough Shoal was an antic that would tend to escalate, rather than cool down, tensions in the Spratlys, a group of islands in the South China Sea claimed in part or in whole also by the Philippines, China, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

“The Aquino government, or at least the President and some of his officials, seems intent on escalating the dispute over the Spratlys.

First they (President Benigno Aquino 3rd and the officials) are insisting in bringing in the United States into the fray. Now they are provoking a military engagement by deploying a full-fledged warship. This is not a video game, Mr. President. There’s no restart button here, so better be careful,” Casiño said.

President Aquino is said to be fond of video games.

A guessing game, Singapore apparently believed, was being played by Beijing in the Spratly Islands.

Also on Monday, it urged China to be more open about the extent of its territorial claims to the islands, saying that Beijing’s ambiguity was causing international concern.

The foreign ministry said that while Singapore had no claims of its own, the city-state was a major trading nation whose interests could be affected by issues relating to freedom of navigation in the area.

The tensions between China and other rival claimants to the strategically vital South China Sea—home to two potentially oil-rich archipelagos, the Paracels and Spratlys—escalated in recent weeks.

The Philippines and Vietnam in particular have expressed alarm at what they say are increasingly aggressive actions by Beijing in the disputed waters, but China has insisted that it is committed to resolving the issue peacefully.

Singapore’s statement was issued after a Chinese surveillance vessel, the Haixun 31, docked in the island-state after passing through the West Philippine Sea.

“We . . . think it is in China’s own interests to clarify its claims in the SCS (South China Sea) with more precision as the current ambiguity as to their extent has caused serious concerns in the international maritime community,” the Singapore statement said.

“Singapore is not a claimant state and takes no position on the merits or otherwise of the various claims in the SCS,” it added.

“But as a major trading nation, Singapore has a critical interest in anything affecting freedom of navigation in all international sea lanes, including those in the SCS,” the statement said.

With Malacañang permission, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. will meet with China’s legislative leaders to discuss the disputed Spratly Islands with them.

“In the company of five fellow congressmen, I will meet with my counterparts in Beijing legislative branch. We will have a meeting with the chairman of the standing committee on legislature to discuss various topics. I think it will be unavoidable to talk about the Spratlys,” Belmonte of the Fourth District of Quezon City, said during a station interview at dzRH in Pasay City (Metro Manila).

The former three-term mayor of Quezon City added that his China trip has the blessings of President Aquino and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Del Rosario.

When asked what the stand of Manila would be if the Spratly issue cropped up, Belmonte said that he was aware of the basis of the Philippine claim.

“I will tell them that what we are after is to keep watch over our territory. The maritime 200 miles extend from our shores,” the Speaker added.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an exclusive economic zone is a part of a particular sea over which a state has special rights to exploration and use of marine resources.

The zone stretches from the seaward edge of the state’s territorial sea out to 200 nautical miles from its coast.

Belmonte said that the Beijing trip had long been scheduled and the Congress recess gave him the opportunity to take it.

Llanesca T. Panti, Jaime Pilapil And AFP

Nguồn: The Manila Times, 

http://www.manilatimes.net/news/topstories/navy-flagship-deployed-to-assert-sovereignty/

Malaysia nhất trí quan điểm của Trung Quốc giải quyết vấn đề Trường Sa bằng đàm phán song phương

"Trung Quốc muốn chúng ta đàm phán song phương về vấn đề Quần đảo Trường Sa và chúng tôi đã nhất trí. Rất quan trọng để có được các thỏa thuận để đảm bảo an ninh và hòa bình khu vực". Phó Thủ twongs Malaysia Muhyiddin đã nói như vậy sau khi đến thăm trường Trung học Thực nghiệm thuộc Beijing Normal University.

Talks to resolve claims over Spratlys

2011/04/20

CHINA and Malaysia have agreed that the overlapping claims on Spratly Islands should be settled through diplomatic engagements to preserve the peace and security in the South China Sea.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that in a meeting with China's Vice-Premier Li Keqiang yesterday, the latter had given his assurance that the republic would continue to help maintain the peace and security in the South China Sea and Straits of Malacca.

"China wants us to have bilateral talks on the Spratly Islands issue and we have agreed. It is important to have diplomatic engagements to ensure regional security and peace," said Muhyiddin after visiting the Experimental High School, which is attached to Beijing Normal University.

The one-hour meeting between Muhyiddin and Li was held in the Great Hall of the People, which functions as the republic's Parliament building. Li later hosted a luncheon for Muhyiddin and his entourage in the building.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia would also relay China's request to other Asean member countries, especially those which have made partial or total claim on Spratly Islands.

Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea between Vietnam, the Philippines, China, Malaysia and Brunei.

They comprise less than four square kilometres of land area, spread over more than 425,000 square kilometres of sea.

Muhyiddin said the Spratly Islands issue must be carefully studied and discussed and it was also important to engage China to resolve the dispute.

In the meeting with Li, Muhyiddin said both parties also agreed to cooperate on other matters that include improving food security as both countries imported food products from each other.

"We also agreed to expand our business and trade cooperation in other fields, covering oil and gas, agriculture, forestry and green technology," he said, adding that the matters would be discussed thoroughly when Premier Wen Jiabao visits Malaysia later this month.

He said trade and investments between the two countries had also increased more than seven fold in the last 10 years, from only US$6 billion (RM18.1 billion) in 2001 to US$45 billion last year.

Source: New Straits Times, http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/4nechna3/Article/art_print